Update

In an email to Religion News Service, Carrie Munk, a spokeswoman for the ALS Association, said that the organization primarily funds adult stem cell research.

“Currently, The Association is funding one study using embryonic stem cells (ESC), and the stem cell line was established many years ago under ethical guidelines set by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS); this research is funded by one specific donor, who is committed to this area of research,” she said. “The project is in its final phase and will come to an end very soon.”

Some have suggested that embryonic stem cell research could eventually be phased out by other, less controversial research.

“Many labs have replaced ESCs with induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells),” Munk said. “These iPS cells begin as adult human skin cells but are then reprogrammed to become stem cells, which are then ready to become other cells types.”